Perspectives from the Region and Europe (Workshop II)
Topics of discussion included ways to overcome obstacles currently hampering Tunisia’s security sector reform process; measures to prevent and combat radicalization; the relationship between the Ennahda party and Hizb ut-Tahrir; the importance of the decentralization process to reshape citizen-state relations and invigorate political participation; corruption and gender issues related to socio-economic marginalization; and EU policies toward Tunisia.
In addition to discussing their own policy papers with decision-makers, participants completed a one-day training module on communication skills and had the opportunity to exchange ideas with two political activists who have led successful campaigns in Tunisia.
The following speakers and discussants attended the workshop (in alphabetical order):
- Bochra Bel Haj Hmida, Women’s Rights Attorney and Activist
- Axel Biallas, First Secretary, German Embassy Tunis
- Robert Blotevogel, International Monetary Fund
- Yassine Brahim, Former Minister of Development, Investment and International Cooperation
- Jazem Halioui, Open Gov Campaign
- Tarek Kahlaoui, Assistant Professor, Islamic Art, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences
- Carsten Meyer-Wiefhausen, German Embassy Tunis
- Andreas Reinicke, German Ambassador to Tunisia
The workshop is part of the MENA Program’s project on the promotion of think tank work in the Middle East and North Africa, which aims to strengthen the scientific and technical capacities of civil society actors in the region and the EU who are engaged in research and policy analysis and advice.
The workshop was funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa) and the Robert Bosch Stiftung and was organized in close cooperation with Joussour, an Tunisian independent think tank, and the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit in Tunis.
